Ring of Fire, 12-hour Time Trial

QUICK STATS	This Ride	2010 Cumulative
Distance	158.33 miles	4352 miles
Elevation Gain	10,913 feet	47.49 miles
Average Moving Speed	14.18 mph	15.04 mph
Dog Bites	0	1

Where to begin...

I guess at the beginning.

Ring of Fire Detailed Forecast

Couldn't ask for much better weather conditions:

Fitness Progress, 2009 vs. 2010

One way to measure my fitness progress is to compare some data from this year to last year. I have a plethora of data available for this year due to my iBike and associated software. Last year I was using my G1 phone with the My Tracks app. Interestingly, while my G1 certainly wasn't as accurate for the elevation gain numbers, it did keep track of my overall time in addition to moving time. I wish my iBike did that! Also note that the 2010 season is not yet over, so those total values will grow a bit more.

Ring of Fire, Weather and Goals

The weather forecast for my race this Saturday looks ideal for cycling:

Weatherbug

Maupin: Partly cloudy. Highs 64 to 74. Lows 44 to 51.
Government Camp: Partly sunny. High 55. Low 45.

The Weather Channel

Maupin: Partly cloudy. Highs in the upper 60s and lows in the upper 40s.
Government Camp: Mix of sun and clouds. Highs in the mid 50s and lows in the mid 40s.

AccuWeather

Maupin: Partly sunny. High 76. Low 46.
Government Camp: Partly sunny. High 63. Low 44.

So it looks like it will be a chilly morning, which means warming up will be important. Last year I hardly warmed up at all as I was concerned about being on the bike for 12 hours and didn't want to add more time-on-the-bike before the clock even started. This year is different. I want to be able to hit the first hill (which is right out of Maupin at the very beginning of the race) while fully warmed up so I can climb at full speed. Warming up on a climb is a bad idea. It is hard on the body (joints, muscles, everything) and overdoing it too early can throw you off for the rest of the ride. So I will definitely get in a solid 20 or 30 minutes of riding before I start racing.

The high temperature for the day is quite cool, basically the complete opposite from last year, which for me, is very, very good news. Of course it is good news for all the racers, but I'm sure some deal with the heat much better than I do, so all the better for me.

No real forecast yet as far as how windy it will be. I figure I can deal with wind as well as anyone else so I'm not concerned about it from a tactical standpoint.

Goals from last year edited for this year:

2010 Rides At Altitude

Altitude Comparison	Mountain Lakes Challenge (6/19/2010)	Cascade Lakes Century (7/25/2010)	Mt. Shasta Century (8/1/2010)	Crater Lake Century (8/21/2010)	Cascade Lakes Super (9/1/2010)
Lowest Altitude	1,860 ft	3,600 ft	3,030 ft	4,150 ft	2,700 ft
Average Altitude (over the entire ride)	4,160 ft	4,800 ft	4,350 ft	5,770 ft	4,330 ft
Highest Altitude	5,400 ft	6,400 ft	7,800 ft	7,900 ft	6,400 ft
Ride Distance	95 miles	97 miles	100 miles	102 miles	140 miles
Climbing	8,073 ft	5,424 ft	10,585 ft	6,668 ft	7,574 ft

Which ride was the hardest? Believe it or not it is hard to say. Our fitness level increased through the season, and each of these rides was hard for its own reasons.

2010 Eagle Crest Rides

QUICK STATS	Distance	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Speed
Monday: Rainy Bend OB	46.94 miles	2,225 feet	15.91 mph
Tuesday: Bend Prineville Redmond	110.02 miles	3,712 feet	15.75 mph
Thursday: Active Recovery	11.44 miles	254 feet	14.60 mph
Friday: Cascade Lakes Super	140.35 miles	7,574 feet	15.15 mph
Saturday: Active Recovery	5.41 miles	315 feet	8.12 mph
Cumulative for the Week	314 miles	14,080 feet	15.21 mph
2010 Cumulative	4,142 miles	44.77 miles	15.05 mph

The rain on Monday threw us all out of whack. We had originally planned the Cascade Lakes Super for Monday, the Prineville ride for Wednesday or Thursday, possibly another biggish ride on Friday, and then on Sunday riding from Eagle Crest to Madras to close out the week. We still got in the two big rides though. And probably could have done the Madras ride today, but sleeping in was much nicer, particularly knowing we can do a nice ride on Monday at home.

Cascade Lakes Super

QUICK STATS	This Ride	2010 Cumulative
Distance	140.35 miles	4137 miles
Elevation Gain	7574 feet	44.71 miles
Average Moving Speed	15.15 mph	15.07 mph
Dog Bites	0	1

We were planning on doing this ride yesterday, but having just completed a 110-mile ride a couple days prior our legs decided otherwise. So we waited another day to tackle this 140-mile ride. Plus we had in the back of our mind the option of simply turning around at Mt. Bachelor and making it a 90-mile day.